From the pain
by Lula6791
Summary: His hand keeps moving tracing without stopping it, his mind elsewhere on old memories of her full of life and the hidden courage that he could only see. Bamon, possible OOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement intended. Yes, that includes the song, L.J. Smith and Alloy entertainment characters too.

 **A/N/Warning:** This one-shot has my favorite pairing Bonnie and Damon. Since I'm not L.J. Smith the characters are totally **OOC**. I did try, though. So please bear with me a little.

I forgot. I post it without a beta check. Sorry for the mistakes and horrors.

* * *

 _ **From the pain...**_

"Without pain, how could we know joy?" ― _**John Green, The Fault in Our Stars**_

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love." _**― Sophocles**_

"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for." _**― Tom Bodett**_

* * *

She woke up startled with the intense pain. _Oh! No, not again. Please not again._

She clutched the sheets as a new slashing sensation marked her right arm. She saw her blood oozing out, slowly painting red her incredibly cute kitten pajamas. _Shoot, another one bite the dust._

After that she couldn't think clearly again. Wave after wave of pain made it impossible. Her sheets not longer dry. Her blood making them wet and cold, too cold for her taste. Then, the pain of a broken bone. She couldn't feel her tears. It has happened before. She knew the hollow dark comes next.

The next second she took her last breath...

* * *

Roaming the world could be a paradox. You could feel it as an incredible experience or as he felt the last couple of weeks it could be absolutely boring. Countries he had already visited in his long, and for the moment everlasting life. Cultures he knows by heart. Human tendencies and attitudes that never changes no matter the century his living in.

He fled because he needed the space. His undead heart demanded it, he succumbed and obeyed his desire to go away. But, to almost to a point of distaste he kept tabs on them. Damon contacted his brother with the excuse to letting him know he was still alive. At other time he sent a congratulation gift to Mutt. Oh! He knew that human boy had cursed him again. Of course, there are the sent birthdays wishes notes to his girls. Even if none of them were actually his. Once he sent a gift to the Little Bird. He almost let his mouth do a smile at the memories of her.

An almost imperceptible smirk appeared on his features. Maybe, it was time to return. The hollow in his heart didn't feel so present any more. Four years had passed and he needed to know if something like hope was a real thing. So, he did like he always does.

Damon did what he wanted, not questions asked. He returned to Fell Church.

In Damon fashion way he arrived in time for the gathering between friends. With his grand entrance he quickly assessed the situation and everyone. The scary Mary was there with her professor. What was his name? Ala, something. Who cares? Not him definitely. The old witch serving as hostess. It was natural, it was her house. Nothing strange there. The glaring sensation came from the human boy, Mutt.

Yes, he missed messing with him. But a warm sensation distracted his mind from the boy. He turned to it expecting the Princess, but alas it was his brother. Damon liked it and he will die first before admitting to it.

He nodded toward Stefan, his Little Brother, to let him know everything was okay. Lastly he dare see her, the reason of love and hate in his heart, Elena. She was beaming and looked so happy. In a careful and slowly way he studied her. Every single detail and his heart leaped. He saw the ring.

A strange thing happened too. He didn't lose his hope. Damon didn't know why, but he was certain of something. This time he wouldn't mess with his brother's happiness. More than five hundred years of that was enough for him. He didn't need it any more.

The scene felt familiar and yet something was missing. His other girl was missing. The words escaped without him thinking it through. A rare thing for him.

"Where is Red Bird?"

Princess' face crumble a little. "She couldn't make it."

That only made him question; what the hell happen?

Later that night he had the obligatory talk with Stefan. It was more of a summary than any other thing. After his departing to Europe, the gang kept mostly together. A few fights with some supernatural creatures, but nothing like the kitsune or Klaus debacle. The slow burn and return to each other between Elena and Stefan, scary Mary's professor return and the process of Red Bird falling in love with a dog. _I hate werewolves!_

Stefan didn't bother to ask why I didn't come to our human's graduations. Or why I kept the contact to a minimum. He knew too well my reasons. At some point of our strange journey he had felt that kind of pain too. A forceful silence descended upon us. I guessed he wanted to say something more, but he was struggling with it.

"Brother?"

He let out a sigh and determination appear within his eyes. Stefan has decided, turning a little to look at me straight to my eyes.

"Damon, I think something happened to Bonnie?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw Bastian the other day with his pack. He asked about her. My surprise face was enough for him to know, so he talked. He had broken up with Bonnie. Almost a year ago."

Damon felt a strange twist. Maybe, it was relief. He'd ignore it not willing to analyzed it more than it should.

"And I don't see the problem with that. In fact, that's great news. The Red Bird doesn't have a dog any more."

"Damon!"

"What brother? It is the truth."

"Try not be you for a second and listen to me. They have broken up and Elena or Meredith didn't know. In fact, they believed she was happy with him and that was the main reason for the few phone calls and the none existent visits. She haven't returned to Fell's Church since graduation. The point is..."

Damon knew. A dreadful feeling started to rise and as he completed Stefan's words.

"Not like her at all."

"Yes."

"You are telling me all of this. Why?"

"I know you care about her. I thought..."

"You thought I will find her and bring her back."

There it goes again. Expecting me be the hero and for what. What would I gain from this. There is no more Elena and frankly I'm tired at everyone wanting me to act like Stefan. The infuriating fact is that I will do it. Even if I let them all believe I don't give a damn.

"I'm not her keeper, Stefan."

I transformed and flew away from him. My plan was to eat, but I ended up going to my Little Bird parents house searching for answers questioning why on earth none of them did it before.

* * *

After a torturous road trip with necessary stops for his essential needs like taking a delicious bite and savor the different tastes blood could have. Drink from the cheapest bourbon to the expensive one he could find. It didn't matter the result would've been the same one.

He would end up in a forsaken little town with some strange vibes fortifying his inner walls and being alert. How on earth from all places Little Bird would end up here? Didn't she learn from her experiences on Fell's Church? His hunter instincts made him take some time to study it.

She ended up on another supernatural crossroads. Ley lines present, check. Psychic tones and undertones surrounding the town, check. Old cemetery, check. Curses and spells easy to detect, check. Dark and strange town history, check. Oblivious human beings, check. Of course, he could bet his fortune he could find vampires, werewolves, witches and anything else the supernatural world could concoct. After all Red Bird lives near another door for the Dark Dimension. This brings a question; did she search for this door? Or the second option, which is the one he believes more, Red Bird stumble with it.

Yes, ironic.

Damon is sure Red Bird knows how to cloak her gifts and aura. She learned that. Red Bird knows how to do spells and if he recollect right she is all aware and know how to use her druid heritage properly. But if something is utterly wrong a damned place like this one, with all the supernatural activity juxtaposing one over another, is the perfect place to hide. Places like Fells Church and here Charon Town always have bigger fish to fry. Here she could hide at plain sight. No human knows her like in Fell Church. Risky but smart. _Quite clever Little Bird!_

It's time to hunt a bird.

Damon found her soon enough at the local elementary school. The sight in front of him keep him intrigued. The playground full of children running and being just that, children. Red Bird is good children and it was obvious the little buggers love her. A long time ago Elena told him what Little Bird finally had chosen to study. He didn't pay too much attention to it, after all he was with Elena and that was what mattered the most.

Kitten had chosen well he could perceive that clearly, but something was not right. Her clothes were different from her coworkers they actually look too hot for the weather. Red Bird keep drinking water and drying her sweat from her brow. Why did she wear a black long sleeve turtle neck in summer weather? He didn't mind the color choice, but still.

At some point he saw her standing still like any prey when they sense the near predator. Red Bird did a three sixty searching for what she had sensed. Damon fortified his walls and tighten his aura's cloak. He felt a gentle prodding, like an invisible wave. _Impressive, Red Bird, very impressive! When did you learn to do that?_

Suddenly a boy came running and hug her. Red Bird wince when the boy touched her, her face showed pain. _Definitely something is wrong with you kitten._

Damon knows how to wait and observe every detail. More often than not those details gives him the answer he's seeking. So, he waited and followed his Little Bird for the rest of the day. He needed answers and he would get them.

The night arrive and Damon felt at home and at this time he revealed his presence to his Kitten. He caught Red Bird by surprise at her apartment with a simple knock on her window. This time he sent his power wave as a counter measure to Little Bird mental probe. She knows his mental touch and he counted on that for her to let him in. What he didn't expect was she saying no.

Red Bird didn't want to invite him in and told him to go away. It bothered him but it was a surprise at the same time. _Interesting!_

"Someday you'll have to get out, Little Bird. I'll be here. You can count on it."

He returns to the shadow waiting. Apparently, cat and mouse, were the game they were playing and he excelled on it. Damon waited until he heard her scream. He flew to her door and open it. The pungent smell of blood invaded his senses, that could only mean one thing. She's bleeding, someone attacked her. Damon burst into her room and found her fragile body smeared in blood on her bed. Only silence was what he could hear and feel; no breathing. _No breathing! How?_

He didn't think about anything. Not about who attacked her? Or about the fact he could open her door an enter to her apartment. About the reason because she no longer exists. How the attacker slipped through his warnings? _Why didn't he sensed anything?_

Damon lifted her from the mess on her bed and cradle her on his lap, gently almost lovingly. The body cold to the touch, with the natural stillness of death. This could not be happening, not under his watch. Time passed he wasn't sure how much maybe hours. Damon didn't know and he didn't care. He kept his Little Bird cold body near him and spent some time memorizing every detail. Her fiery hair, paleness of her skin, how delicate and little she was and the marks on her arms.

Frowning he carefully inspected the marks again. They seemed a day old because the healing process were already under way. Then, he remembers what happened with the boy. Red Bird had wince in pain maybe, the boy touched her one of her wounds when he hugged her. Damon moved the seam of the shirt Red Bird is wearing and he saw red. There were marks everywhere, like someone had punched her. With his fingers he delicately traced one of her injuries. _You had suffered a lot, Little Bird._

His hand keeps moving tracing without stopping it, his mind elsewhere on old memories of her full of life and the hidden courage that he could only see. Always Red Bird hidden away behind Elena's greatness. Elena is the sun and his Red Bird was. What is Red Bird? The moon? The moon who could only be seeing after the sun is gone. Moon his eternal companion who always be there for him as a creature of the night. A maniacal laugh emerged from deep within him. _Now I'm thinking poetic nonsense!_

Damon leaned his head a little towards Red Bird face. If, he wasn't feeling the cold of her body he could easily believe she was sleeping. Her face so serene and at peace. His hand stopped tracing her injuries, now it's carefully tucking away the loose curls of her fiery hair off her face. Then, he let his hand caress her cheek. Would it be possible that now is when he realized how much he will miss her. Now when there is no more birds on the nest. He kept caressing absent-mindlessly. _What a cliche!_

The first rays of the sun came out and with it the shocking truth. His Little Bird took her first breath.

With no comprehension at all of what is really happening. The mixture of the surprise and relief emotions mixing up together he heard what his heart was craving. Red Bird sing-song voice came out a little raspy, but it was there real.

"Damon"

In a long time he hadn't felt the burst of energy coming out from deep within him. It was a pure feeling, simple as that. He felt pure joy.

* * *

 **A/N:** If you read it completely Thank you. I hope you really like it. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this. Maybe, one more chapter that at this point has not one word written. I guess, what I need to know if it's good enough to do it. Let me know.

I'll love some feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement intended. Yes, that includes the song, L.J. Smith and Alloy entertainment characters too.

 **A/N/Warning** : This has my favorite pairing Bonnie and Damon. Since I'm not L.J. Smith the characters are totally OOC. I did try, though. So please bear with me a little.

I forgot. I post it without a beta check. Sorry for the mistakes and horrors.

* * *

 **From the pain... Chapter II**

 _"I will love you as a thief loves a gallery and as a crow loves a murder, as a cloud loves bats and as a range loves braes. I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence ... I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, no matter where you avoid and who you don't see,... I will love you no matter what happens to you, and no matter how I discover what happens to you, and no matter what happens to me as I discover this, and now matter how I am discovered after what happens to me as I am discovering this."_ **― Lemony Snicket**

* * *

Damon acted on instincts, he didn't think out what he was doing. His arms brought her closer and his head leaned onto the soft curve of her neck. Music filled his senses, the beat of her heart and the rhythm of her breathing were the only thing that mattered to him. Damon didn't know what happened and he will found out. He was certain of it, but for this moment, the second she gasped was a surprise he didn't count on with it.

In his normal fatalistic way he had already accepted Red Bird fate and as shameful it could be he was saying good-bye to one of his girls. Five hundred years under the belt tend to do that. He had live and witness a lot of things, events and people. Only one thing remained within his beliefs. Surprises aren't good. _Never!_

Red Bird chattered that with her glorious gasp of air. Now cradle on his lap and pressed against him alive and uttering a painful moan he could tell anyone who dares to ask him; I'm happy. Even if Red Bird was in pain and if he sounds like a perverted man, he didn't care. _He was happy. Damn it!_

"Damon."

Her weak calling snapped him out of his joyful trance. Damon moved her a little, just enough to see her eyes studying him. He didn't dare to stop embracing her. Damon didn't want to stop the contact between them.

Red Bird trembling hand softly touched his face, with care and amazement.

"You're real. It is you."

Her whispers reached his ears.

"Yes, Little Bird it's me,"

Then, Red Bird look carefully to her extended hand. A frown appeared on her face.

"So much blood."

Damon glanced her body. Red Bird was right too much blood smeared her clothes, the bed sheets and of course his clothes too.

"You lost an awful a lot of it. You need blood, Little Bird."

He bit his wrist and offered his life source to her. Kitten, did a weak effort to deny him. She didn't want to drink it.

"Don't be stubborn, Drink it. Don't make compel you to drink it, Kitten."

She drank and her pulse got a healthy rhythm. After that he looked at her again carefully. Red Bird was shivering and the look of death was still on her. _This won't do!_

Damon stood up with her in his arms and walked to the bathroom. The blood needs to be gone. The smell of death needs to disappear. He turned on the shower and stepped under it with Red Bird on his arms. Damon let go of her legs and kept holding her to him embracing her. Both of them fully clothed got drenched under the shower clinging to each other. If, anyone asks about this moment he would deny it because Damon Salvatore didn't cling on anyone. He was merely holding her up because she was weak and could fall and hurt herself.

Red Bird is still shivering, even if the water was fairly hot. It was like death didn't want to let her go. He pushed her gently to make enough space between them. With one arm still holding her by her waist, his other arm took the seam of her long pajamas shirt. Red Bird understood and raise her arms. Her shirt was gone a second after. Damon pulled down her pajama shorts. Now she was almost nude leaning onto him. He had the strangest feeling, her fragile body between his arms with almost no clothes; she still had her undergarments though. No bras but the rest still on, didn't feel new to him. It was like he had lived a similar moment with her before. _Impossible, I would remember it._

He let his powers out and created a warm cocoon surrounding them. Now the warmth has direct contact with Kitten's skin. The soothing effect of the water and the relative calm of his power did the trick. Slowly, but surely her body stopped shivering. Her pale skin took a healthy rosy look. Damon almost basked on his cleverness.

"Why are you here, Damon?" the trembling words pulled a string on his heart.

"Why shouldn't I be here, Little Bird?"

"I... I don't know." She said it avoiding his gaze. Red Bird didn't want to look at him.

He turned off the water, but kept the warm cocoon engulfing them. With his right hand he touched her shin and lifted up until she had to look directly to his eyes.

"Who hurt you?"

The burning question left his mouth. He needed to know what the hell happened to her. She recoiled a little. Or least she did try to get away from him. _Foolish Girl!_

"You know you can't escape, Kitten. I won't let you go."

Red Bird big doe eyes looked at him. She was still, too still. Only her shallow breaths and her frantic beating of her heart were the only sounds between them. Little Bird was studying him and her face showed amazement, incredulity, worry, some hope and sadness. Too much sadness radiated from her eyes and scattered throughout her aura. She must feel like a big anvil is pulling her down, drowning her. He once knew that feeling. _Dreadful feeling!_

"I really don't know, Damon. I don't have anyone to ask about this. I... I' m just tired."

He impulsively pulls her against him again. How could he explain to her she's not alone? Never was and never will be alone. Red Bird has him even though he many times fought the simple truth. Damon could no longer try to hide the sun with his hand. He will do anything to protect her. _She's not alone._

Red Bird shivered a little. He totally forgot to keep the warmth surrounding them. Lost in his thoughts and realizing his foolishness. More than five hundred years took him to acknowledge that he has a thing for red heads too.

"Let's get out oh here, put some clothes on and you need to eat."

Kitten looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"About what? Kitten"

"That I'm not alone."

Yes, she definitely has grown up. Red Bird heard him and he was pretty sure he didn't say anything out loud.

Damon gave Bonnie his usual smirk.

"Yes, Red Bird you're not alone."

* * *

In another place and possible another time a similar red-head has her first breath without pain. The witch finally had lifted the curse. Now no longer a maiden of her family will die. No more psychic attacks until the heart stops beating. What she didn't imagine was that she failed. She only sent the curse to an innocent druid soul. A sister druid soul, who had her mind played by two vampire brothers not too long ago. These brothers trying to protect the sun unknowingly severed the chains and set the little psychic mind free.

Free without restraints burning like the brightest star, like the biggest fire waiting to be put out by the next threat. The red-head druid sent a death sentence down the line to a fellow druid soul.

What she didn't know was that the brightest star wasn't alone. The crow glanced at the moon, his eternal companion, and for the first time he could see her beauty. The sun was no longer between them.

* * *

 **A/N:** So there you have it. Chapter two. Please give me some love and tell if I should continue. I know VD book version is very inactive but I can't stop loving Damon and Bonnie.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement intended. Yes, that includes the song, L.J. Smith and Alloy entertainment characters too.

 **A/N/Warning** : This has my favorite pairing Bonnie and Damon. Since I'm not L.J. Smith the characters are totally OOC. I did try, though. So please bear with me a little.

I forgot. I post it without a beta check. Sorry for the mistakes and horrors.

* * *

 **From the pain... Chapter III**

 _"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace." **― Chuck Palahniuk, Diary**_

 _"There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment." **― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever**_

 _"If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present." **― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart**_

 _"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." **― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul**_

* * *

He watched as Red Bird munched on some leftovers she got from her fridge. He was quite certain they were old. It was like she didn't care anymore. Even him could appreciate fresh food was way better than something old, reheated food.

She simply ignored him like he was another piece of furniture in her crappy apartment. Another person doing this type of transgression to him would had felt it on their necks. But with her, he just simply stared. Every move and nuance. She was dead on his arms and now she was still a breathing human.

He didn't quite understood how or why. He will found out for sure, but right now he was content just to watch her do her thing.

So much history between them, since that night at the library. She would not remember it he knew that, but still it was part of their story. His Little Bird, always his. Now she was washing the few dishes she used.

The next thing he heard was an anguish groan. Damon perceived the strong scent of fresh blood. Her apartment reeked of blood, her blood. But now it was fresh, sweeter. He reacted on instinct. In less than a second he was by her side searching out what happened. Why did he smell her fresh blood again?

"It's not even morning, yet! Again so soon! Why?"

Red Bird huddled down low in pain. Like the predator he is, Damon approached her carefully. He didn't want to scare her and made her move away. She was obviously in pain. Then he saw it, the long red streak in her arm. It looked like a claw opened her skin. Raw, exposed to him.

Before he could grasp what he was doing his hand touched her injury. Red Bird watch him with fear in her eyes. He slowly licked his finger now coated with Red Bird's blood. _So Rich! Powerful! Enticing!_

He was hungry. Hunger was acting dominating him. It felt like another person doing the movements. Grabbing up Red Bird, forcing her to expose her neck. Feeling her constant pulse calling him, hypnotizing him. Her blood so psychically rich. _Addicting!_ He will be satisfied and full. No more hunger, no more pain. It was like watching the scene through a looking glass. He was near and afar at the same time. Damon felt his fang elongate, the anticipation and the thrill to have his prey on his arms. The knowledge, the gratification he needed was less than a second away.

A psychic call came in.

" _Damon, please don't do it. If you want my blood I'll give it to you, but not like this please."_

Red Bird's sing song voice call. To the utter despair of his monster within, the inner little Damon who is still chained heard her voice. He rattled his chains so loudly that the monster snarled at him.

Damon blinked and reluctantly let her go. He remembered why he hadn't drink her blood. Why did he made that choice. Muted memories of another red head with similar powers and a broken heart came upfront. He was no longer seeing his Red Bird. It was another woman who he claimed to love for selfish purposes.

He scented the maiden's druid blood and he wanted her power. He wanted to nourish his monster with it because he new the monster will sleep longer. With it he could control it better. Almost five hundreds years ago he didn't stop like he did today. He was more of a monster, an animal. Couldn't control his ravenous hunger. Damon hadn't discovered his powers, not yet. He only wanted to eat. To keep drinking his nourishment. Humans desired riches, gold, power. They didn't now how weak they are. He had bitten and killed the maiden. A maiden so eerily similar to his Red Bird.

Red hair, green eyes, pale skin. Her last words a curse upon him. In Gaelic words she banished his capacity to recognized true love. He will desire what others have, but he would never recognized the one soul born for him. He will not think about it, he will only remember the passion and distorted love he felt for his maker. He had doom himself and any other woman who dare to truly love him. Who dare to choose him first.

He recoiled from Red Bird's presence. He transformed and flew away. It couldn't be? What was his Little Bird suffering his doing? Why on earth all those memories came back? He hadn't thought about that druid witch on ages. He hadn't even realized why he always look for red heads when he didn't wanted blonds.

Damon didn't pay any thoughts about the curse. Had he doomed his Little Bird? _NO!_ He didn't love her. All of her pain, her magical injuries has to have another reason. Maybe a hex on her.

After drinking his dinner and somewhat satiating his hunger for Red Bird's blood, Damon returned to the apartment. He found her sitting on her couch with an old book between her hands. The scent of fresh blood was gone.

Damon studied her, Little Bird changed her clothes again and the typical sound of the wash-machine was part of their actual ambiance. She looked like she was waiting for him. Red Bird stood up walked toward him and offered an old book. Damon did his usual smirk and in an almost insusceptible way he said no to the offer.

Red Bird only looked up to his eyes for a second, turn around and left the old book on the couch. She didn't say any words. He only watched her go to her tiny laundry. Red Bird never looked back. Damon took the damned thing and read it. A sense of inevitability and anger came up word after word. He did recognized the story. He lived it after all, he was pictured like a charming prince when he was not. He read how a maiden saw him through her innocent eyes ignoring the urgent calls and her instinct to not trust him. Seducing her was part of the game. Damon wondered why did he picked her? Why did he invested on her so much time? Why he wanted so much her blood?

She was a druid, a witch. Call it whatever you may he craved her power more than anything. Her blood mixed with her magnificent power called to him. The monster who lived under his skin rejoiced all this process. Damon loved that hunt, when he finally touched that delicate neck and tasted the nectar, he oh so much coveted he felt pure bliss. He hadn't felt that since Katherine. He felt some sort of relief.

Her power connected with him. Damon saw who was her and the druid maiden knew she was about to die. That's how the curse came to be. The maiden did something not noble. She broke some rules and that had side effects.

Soft footsteps heading toward him. Damon, looked up and watched Red Bird intently. Side effects, last night he saw what those two word meant. Apparently he did this to his Little Bird and still something was not right. A piece of the puzzle is missing, that much he was aware off.

"Now you know everything of my ailment Damon. Now you know that I don't have definite answers. I only knew it was an old vampire and a druid innocent girl."

Pregnant silence descended upon them. It seemed like an eternity. Little Bird turns towards the door, picked up her keys and went out. Resplendent light came in within the mere seconds it took the door to close again. It was no longer night, it's was time of the sun to shine. _I did not do this to her! I did not!_

Denial is a gruesome thing…

Little Bird returned after a some hours, time enough for me to think everything through. The missing piece bothering my senses. The maiden I killed wasn't from Red Bird's bloodline. Damon is an expert when it was a blood thing issue. He knows the difference not only the magical ones, but the mundane and normal ones too. Five hundreds and plus years give one that kind of knowledge. The powerful blood he drank that time was entirely different from Red Bird's. If he was the one responsible for the curse, the logical thing is a descendant from that witch would be the one with the curse on her.

McCullough line or the MacLachlan line were not mixed whatsoever with that witch bloodline. He would have notice it with that tiny speck of blood he tasted from Little Bird.

"Does this story has a meaning to you? Are you the one?"

He knew what Red Bird was asking. Damon studied her his woman-child had grown up, but at what cost. He smirked only to spite her. He wanted to see her angry. For some wicked reason he wanted to provoke a reaction. He was sick and tired of the constant blank expression on her face. Damon wanted his Songbird back. _Unbelievable! Missing her!_

He did missed her on his travels through the continents after their last adventure on the Dark Dimension, the place where he almost lost her.

Damon stood still silent looking at her. It was like time has stop between them. It was like a bubble no sounds came towards them. No nature or human alike. Just the two of them on their own terms. Once upon a time they did have a similar moment. Little Bird saw him, the real him and he turn away from that.

She let a sad sigh escape from her lips.

"I guess it's pay back time. Isn't it?"

Red Bird was looking at him but her eyes were lost in her memories. He could fairly guess they were painful memories and for some strange reason he knew for certain he was the cause of those memories.

She took a couple steps towards him. Little Bird's eyes returned to their cocooned present.

"Damon, I'm willing to die for you. I do. Even if you're the cause of this curse."

"I'm..."

"Don't please. No lies, not at this moment."

"How could you be so certain it was me the monster depicted on that old witch story?

Her eyes brimmed with tears. Little Bird was fighting her hardest to not cry in front of him. That effort only caused him to admire her more. _Wait! Now its admiration?_ What other things will he realized on this awful day?

"You haven't denied it, You haven't smirked. Damon, you said nothing. Silence it's another form of acceptance. Sad and ironic don't you think..."

She fidgeted a little, her dark stuffy clothes only enhanced the red of her hair and her paleness. Her deceiving fragile complexion. How wrong they were about her. He knew about her inner strength. Damon only reached and grasped the reality of Red Bird's real beauty. Cliche as it is, her strength makes her beautiful, her soul make her tempting, her power makes her hypnotic, her blood makes her enticing, her heart makes her… _irresistible_.

"What is sad Red Bird?"

 _Yes, definitely beautiful._

"Don't you see it? We are willing to die for each other, but we are not willing to say the truth to each other."

Red Bird took a pause and a single tear fell out of her eye. Damon had to fight his instinct to wipe it away. His protective instinct came out roaring from his inner self. Even the chained little boy was screaming. _Protect HER!_

"But the thing is, Damon. I had a moment of weakness."

Her words make him ignore the little boy. He just tilt his head a little, waiting for her.

"After a year I called Elena.", Damon tensed up immediately. Red Bird kept talking in a bit of a rush now pacing between her couch and him.

"She was mad. So mad! I understood and expected that, but I called to ask her to call you back home..."

Back and forth between the couch and him. Again and Again… It seemed like desperation was winning. Red Bird at that moment was the teenager he once knew. The woman-child that called him. The same one able to compelled him. Not a proud moment for him, but that night on campus was seared in his brain. Damon felt some regret because now he is the only one able to remember it.

"I want to be alone, that's why I went away. I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I didn't want my family to suffer this with me. They don't deserve it. I'm the one that accepted my gift when Honoria asked me. She warned me, you know. Honoria Fell told me about the responsibility, the dangers everything and I still said yes. Because… because I couldn't see my self without them. I would've been incomplete… "

"Red Bird, breathe."

She stopped for a second breathed once and started to pace again.

"I didn't mind dying. I accepted it. I lived with it. Even if no one believed me I knew my life would be short…. Then this thing started to happen. At first little bruises with a bit of pain. But with time it progressed to the point I stopped breathing. So painful Damon, so much pain. I didn't mind it either. I found that old book and I didn't mind it either. But today on my weak moment, I learned from Elena, I would become an aunt soon. It's a girl, and they say she could be born on my birthday. That's tomorros and I realized. I need to live Damon. I need to live desperately because I don't want my niece to have this fate."

Now tears were coming down unstoppable. Suddenly Little Bird stopped pacing, walked toward him and grabbed him by his leather jacket. Looking up at him. So much sadness and pain.

"Do you get it? I don't want my niece near you. You were near to one of my ancestors, you are near me and if I don't survive this night somehow you'll be near my niece."

Harsh words came out from her mouth. It was a bit unnerving. Damon realized it was the first time Red Bird was telling him the truth without him using any trick or compelling it from her.

"I need to live through this night, to reach my birthday Damon, this thing has to stop with me. I want for my niece the life I'd will never have. I want her the picket fence with children running and playing. I want her to have a loving partner. Who'll love her and respect her. A doting father to her children. I want her to live freely, no otherworldly worries. Damon I need to live!"

Damon did what only he could have done. He put his hand on Red Bird's back neck and brought her to him. He leaned down and kiss her. She responded with the same intensity she said her truth. It was a desperate dance between them. Damon felt the drought on his soul disappear.

"Say it Red Bird. Say the words."

"I..." Pain came to her features and the scent of fresh blood came to be.

"Love..." Another painful cry from her. Damon was waiting.

He remembered the witch clearly and those tragic words, the curse. Damon remembered clearly the witch wasn't a McCullough, he did remember the rebel little red head that lifted the curse from her family. How proud she was when she told them. "You no longer will torment us." The witch had said, the strange compulsion that made him come back to search the one with the curse on her went away to only reappear on Red Bird. Very few women were born from the McCullough line. It was the reason it was so hard for him to accept the truth. The curse were for women, with certain gifts and those were rarely repeated through time.

The witch didn't lifted the curse, she just changed it and condemn a fellow druid with it. Through time and space, linked to him more accurately than before. Yes, he was the monster who did this and he was going to fix it. A crazy idea came to his mind and let his soul to connect with Red Bird's soul, like that night were he felt he found his home, his nest.

"You." The final cry came from Red Bird lips. Damon kept kissing her ignoring the siren call of her blood.

Through their mind link requested her to said the same words as he.

" _Red Bird, please repeat the words I'm about to say. I need you to infuse them with your magic, used your life source, use my life source for it."_

Damon didn't knew if it would work, but if she died this night, he will go with her. He then said the words he had heard so many times on his life. Words he once thought he will tell to Elena. Words that now are for Red Bird and only her.

"With the love in my heart, With that love that is ours, I call upon the power of the Earth and the Stars. Binding I seek, Eternal love you will offer to me. Souls intertwined will be. So mote it be!"

The effect was swiftly and immediate. Two souls became one, two lives became one. The youthful and human warmth came to him, the regal certainty and long lasting knowledge went to her.

" _Damon what…?_

With the effect of magic and the tragic desperation between them, the human act he didn't need to do came to be. The blood exchange between them sealed the binding spell. Now they belong to each other, if she dies he goes with her and if he dies she goes with him.

For the first time the feeling of home was more palpable to him than ever. The blinding beauty of the moon came barreling towards him. His eyes opened to the inner truth he didn't care to admit since he fist lay eyes on Red Bird. Even the annoying little boy was doing his happy dance. The scale on his eyes had fallen, the truth was so clear know. That night at the library he had found his soul mate.

And at that moment he utter to her the three words his soul craved to say. "I love you, Bonnie. I love you."

A thunder was heard on Charon town, the unseen lighting came down on them. The curse was broken and the witch who cursed them finally rest in peace. The mischievous witch who condemned the McCullough women sigh relieved. The light her soul was waiting appear and she finally went to her destiny. He only needed to admit the truth, that he love the woman who chose him first.

The two lovers accepted their reality. It took a long journey for both of them realized they were meant to be.

The vampire admitted after his five hundred year, he truly fell in love. It wasn't obsessive like Katherine or sadly like Elena. It was a true love. Damon found the person who chose him first. Only now he did understood his soft spot for the sometime annoying woman-child, the teenager who seemed to have an old soul within her. The teenager who was capable to see him. The teenager who became the woman standing with him watching the sun came up.

"Happy Birthday!" She survived the night.

Months later, on the hand-fast celebration of his Little Brother and Elena, he had a quiet moment with his brother. They didn't say anything. What more could be said. Each one had what they craved and wanted since their tragic story came to be. They watched the girls laugh whole hardheartedly.

With the binding he didn't have to drink so much blood anymore, his heart had a steady pace. Red Bird had a vampiric stunning look and still she was human. It was symbiotic between them and they didn't mind. They were happy. They haven't try if he could survive the sun without his ring, but that would be for another time and story.

Bonnie turned and threw him a kiss. The Fiery Red hair shined under the evening sun, her soft blue dress gracing her curves, no shoes and dancing with scary Meredith and Elena. She looked like a pixie. His pixie. His Little Bird. He smiled...

Yes, he love her. Simple as that.

 **x`x`x`x`x`x` THE END x`x`x`x`x`x`**

* * *

 **A/U:** Okay this is it. I'm so sorry for the long huge delay. But life gets it's way and lack of inspiration is part of it. I still have another story to finish, it's a bit bittersweet, feels like closing a chapter for me. I don't plan to take down the stories. I can see how much I've had change through them. Yes, English still my second language, that's remind me: sorry for the mistakes, inconsistencies, horrors, grammar, etc etc. Still learning and proud to say it.

Since I don't see too much traffic on Vampire Diaries book section, sadly I don't hope or wait for a lot of reviews. I missed reading stories here about my OTP. I'm a sucker for shipping those who are usually not the main couple. Maybe because I can see something hinted between two characters and feeds my imagination. Maybe it's that what I fell in love with it, Bonnie and Damon let my imagination fly.

I read the original books written by L.J. Smith, I didn't read the ghost writer books, maybe the first one that is a mixed between L.J. Smith words and the ghost writer and it was painful. It was not the same. I watched the show change so much of the original story that for me to somewhat enjoy it I had to imagine it was the "official" fan fiction story of the world and characters created by L.J. Smith. It was the only way for me to appreciate the work done on the show. Still it is fiction just simple as that, just entertainment.

After all this... I'm still grateful for the journey. I cross my finger and wish with all my heart to be able to finish Diaries of a Lost Soul. My heart is broken with this story I lost so much of it when my previous laptop went down and crash.

If you still reading thank you. Enjoy your fandom, ship whatever you want to ship, but please remember is fiction, is entertainment. Be kind to each other, respect each other.

The beauty of the human race is the paradoxical concept of being the same species and yet intrinsic different individuals. What a beauty we are!


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